Explore the raw emotions of doubt as expressed in the Psalms, particularly Psalm 73. Delve into the distinction between feelings and praying those feelings, highlighting how the psalmists process their struggles with faith. Discover how doubt can coexist with belief and may even lead to spiritual growth. The discussion emphasizes the importance of navigating doubt openly, offering practical steps to engage with it, and reassures listeners of God's grace amid uncertainty. Reconnect with the divine as we confront emotional turbulence in our faith journeys.
Doubt is a natural part of the believer's journey, often arising from hardships that challenge one's understanding of God's nature.
Acknowledging and processing feelings of doubt through prayer and community can lead to deeper faith and understanding of God's grace.
Deep dives
Understanding Doubt
Doubt is often characterized as a state of spiritual vertigo, where an individual's faith feels unstable due to conflicting experiences and perceptions. The speaker highlights that doubts can afflict anyone, regardless of their spiritual maturity, including those who have made significant contributions to the faith, like the psalmist Asaph, who experienced profound uncertainty about God's goodness. Asaph's feelings of doubt arose not from a lack of knowledge about God but from witnessing injustice and the prosperity of the wicked, leading him to feel disoriented in his beliefs. This visualization of doubt emphasizes the importance of acknowledging these spiritual tremors as part of a believer's journey rather than viewing them as an indication of failure.
The Dual Nature of Doubt
The podcast discusses the dual nature of doubt, highlighting both its potential for growth and the sin it can embody. Doubts often arise when individuals face hardships or injustices that challenge their understanding of God’s nature, leading to a crisis of faith. For instance, they might struggle with why bad things happen to good people or why the wicked seem to prosper, creating a disconnect between intellectual beliefs and emotional experiences. However, the speaker encourages listeners to see doubt as a catalyst for deeper exploration and understanding of their faith, rather than merely a barrier.
Navigating Through Doubt
To effectively navigate doubt, the speaker introduces four practical steps: doubting one's doubts, entering the sanctuary, comparing footholds, and feeling for God's hand. Doubting doubts involves examining the motivations behind one's skepticism, often uncovering dishonest narratives that may stem from personal desires or pride. Entering the sanctuary symbolizes the importance of engaging in worship and prayer, which grounds one’s experience in community and spirituality. Meanwhile, comparing footholds encourages believers to assess where they place their faith, recognizing that disbelieving in God also requires a leap of faith into alternative beliefs that may be just as unstable.
Finding Assurance Amidst Doubt
The concluding point emphasizes the significance of understanding God's unwavering grace, even in times of doubt. By acknowledging that Jesus experienced profound spiritual despair on the cross, believers can find reassurance that God remains steadfast, holding their hand through their struggles. This assurance is crucial for overcoming doubt; it is not merely about intellectual assent but about recognizing the relational aspect of faith. Ultimately, recognizing that doubts can coexist with faith allows believers to embrace their complexities while still feeling the warmth of God’s love and presence.
The anger, the fear, the hostility, the rawness, the white heat of the emotions expressed in the Psalms really just disturb people today. You look at it, and you say, “What is that doing in the Bible?” The answer is the psalmists are not discussing feelings, and they’re not expressing feelings. They’re praying their feelings. They’re processing their feelings in the presence of God.
What we’re going to look at today is doubt. Doubt always masquerades as more intellectual than it is, but doubt is a condition of the soul and the heart. And in Psalm 73, here’s a person filled with doubts, struggling with doubts about God and about faith.
Let’s see 1) what’s the condition, 2) what’s the cause of the condition, and 3) what’s the cure for the condition.
This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 20, 2000. Series: Psalms – The Songs of Jesus. Scripture: Psalm 73:1-3; 12-26.
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